Best one ever is the Genesis controller. Nothing has fit my hand like it before or since (the XBox S Controller is nice, but a little too big). Your hands just kinda...glided onto the Genesis controller. Everything was in reach and the D-pad was smooth as buttah. I even got some rubber pad things for my NES controller that gave it that Genesis-rounded shape.

The original controller for the XBox is the worst I've ever played with. It was a monstrosity.

The original, big Xbox controller. I've got fairly big hands, as do most of my friends, so the size was a plus. We played a lot of Halo when it first came out, and the controller was perfectly designed for the game. The Xbox s is OK, but not as good.

I've always loved the dual shock controller. The buttons are always close to your fingers, never out of the way, and the thing just fits like a glove. I think it works for every type of game out there, though many people have said they hate playing FPSs with it. I don't understand why though. I own a few FPSs and I think it works just fine with shooters.

My least favorite is the N64 controller. I never got the hang of using those 4 yellow buttons, and it was a pain in the butt to use on fighting games. Also they broke easily too.

The Playstation dual-shock controllers are near perfect; all the buttons fit my hands just correctly; I even got a dual-shock clone for my computer. The Gamecube controller is pretty good as well. The N64 controller looked goofy, and only had a single analog sticks but it worked well enough. Older controllers(NES, SNES, Genesis, ect) are all just too small.

And the X-Box controllers are oversized demon-spawned abominations. The guys at Microsoft who designed them should be shot. And hanged. And set on fire. At the same time.

I'd have to agree with the folks who say PS/PS2 Dual Shock. A close second is the GameCube controller. The button layout seems a little odd at first, but then it makes sense in that most games have one button you use more than the others. Why not make it real big and accessible?

The Dreamcast controller wasn't too bad for me.

Worst controller: Xbox. Second worst: N64.

Dishonorable Mention: Arcade machine controls. They're at the exact height where my hand is at a 90 degree angle to my forearm. Gets painful after a while.

but as far as normal controls go, I like the saturn pad alot, but rarely use mine anymore .
Dualshock 2 is my current 'most used' control, so it has started to grow on me. However, my boss has a Mad Catz wireless for ps2 that he won't shut up about, and I really want one, but we don't get them in at work too often.

I love my Gamecube controller, it's the only one I've ever had that really fit my girly hands. The N64 and PS1 Dual Shock were close, but the Gamecube is better, and I'm never button hunting. I think it's lovely in its design.

Worst is original XBox controller, hands down (no pun intended). I don't believe they ever thought a girl would pick one up. Ever. The S kind is better, but it's still too big and not intuitive.

The playstation controllers are my favorites. I don't get to play console games very often, so anything that isn't too difficult to get used to I like. These fit the bill. The N64 controller is pretty nice too. I kinda like the four c-buttons, and it fits well in my hands no matter which position I'm holding it in.

I can't stand the gamecube controller. Who decided how they were going to arrange the buttons? The L and R buttons feel weird, and I can never remember for the life of me which is the a button and which is the b without looking down (ditto for x/y/z). It's also not as comfortable to hold.

People seem to either love or hate the Nintendo 64 controller, and I must confess it is my favourite. I always found it intuitive to use, and the addition of grooves around the 3D stick made the transition from the D-Pad easier.

Original N64 controller, no question. So very intuitive; you never had to look down to figure out what was what, and the "switch hand positions for stick use" method was perfect. I will admit that I didn't like the fact that the stick wore out after about six months of heavy usage.

I'm fond of the PS/PS2 Dual Shock, but I despise the Logitech Dual Action (dual-shock clone for PC) that I bought to play Madden '04 on my PC... the stick has almost an eighth of an inch of free play around the straight-ahead, and needs recalibrating every five seconds.

Least favorite has to be the original X-Box controller. I've got huge hands (or at least, extremely long fingers) and it's too damn big even for me.

Its not much of a joystick, but on FPS type games, the stragtic commander works wonders. I use the MSSC implace of the ASDW inverted T on the keyboard, and I use my mouse for directional looking/contoll. Between my mouse (7 buttons) and the MSSC (8 buttons, 3 shift buttons = 32 buttons) there are more buttons than I need for changing weps and such.

Because it was not designed for this taks, getting it setup to work as a directional controller is a pain. But once I got it to work, its beautiful.

now using it for what it is made for -- starcraft type RTS games -- its pretty damn cool too.

I've never undestood the Genesis controller. Why THREE buttons instead of four?

NES had two buttons
then Genesis came out with its 3 buttons and 16 bits
then the SNES with four buttons and l,r triggers.
then the Genesis started selling a six button controller for use with games like Street Fighter 2

what's so intuitive about four? All you need most of the time is 2 or 3

Personally I'll put in a vote for the old Jaguar controller. Maybe it wasn't the best system overall (though it had some killer games), but the controller...aw man. Once it was in your hands, you knew it was meant to play. So far it's the only controller to perfectly fit my hands. The Xbox was okay, but the trigger buttons were too far in, and it wasn't as intutive. Maybe it only had three buttons, but the phone pad was nice and easy to use after a bit of practice. And besides, you could fix the old Atari 2600 dial to it instead of the D-pad and play Tempest the way it was meant to be played. All in all, a great controller.

My vote is Xbox Controller S.
The analog for the left thumb is in the right spot. The right one is in a perfect spot for easily switching between that and the buttons. Oh, the buttons. Perfect... soft... round... bubbly... You know where I am getting at. The L and R triggers are so good to my fingers...

Now, PS dual shock controllers were my favorite for awhile. I played my original Playstation A LOT. Then the Gamecube and Xbox came out. I originally reeled towards the Gamecube controller... since it was so perfect for Super Smash Bros Melee, and the damn Xbox controller was a bit bigger than anything I had experienced in my hands... (But not near as bad as you guys say... I have small hands [I'm 5'6], and it's still usable and better than some controllers).

But when Xbox Controller S came out, I got an Xbox. For that sole reason too... I liked Xbox but the controller was lacking... and the price hadn't gone down yet... so I waited for that.

If you truly think Gamecube or PS2 controllers, I'd love to hear your reasons why compared to Xbox S; Because it is likely I can easily manage countering any statements.

Who can argue with the Atari 2600? One button, one self-centering stick, nothing to screw up. Plus it also worked on the C-64 and Vic-20!

I really did like the feel of the N64 controller. The C-buttons were smaller and all yellow so they could be designed to work independantly of the others, but there were also aligned with the A and B buttons so they were perfect for 6 button fighting games. And the Z-Trigger? Tell me it wasn't perfect for playing Goldeneye. It's a TRIGGER for crying out loud!

I really hate the layout of the Gamecube/Wavebird buttons. Absolutely good for nothing. One giant button and 3 smaller ones surrounding it. 3 shoulder buttons? Why not even it out and make two on each shoulder? Plus I always feel like I'm going to break the left analog stick.

People people people!
The Gamecube controller is NOT cool!! I don't own a console of my own but I have my experiences. The "Z" button is hard to push, and easily forgotton about. The "B" button always breaks. Good job Nintendo. You must of missed that in the initial testing. (Funny, how the much more expensive and unnecessary 'Wavebird' doesn't have this problem)

the X-box controller is HUGE. Too huge! Think of the little ones!!

The BEST controller I have ever seen is definetly the PSX2 controller.
8 easy to press buttons. 2 easy smooth non breaking joysticks. And it feels like pushing your fingers in to a warm stick of vibrating butter!

I think the PS/2 controller is the most useful/well laid out, but it lacks the elegant grace of the Genesis controller. It doesn't have enough heft to be truly satisfying when flung in a fit of despair.

The games that I like the PS2 controller for are mostly because of the four shoulder buttons. Great for button-intensive games like Madden or SSX. But you can't beat analog triggers for racing games ("analog buttons" my ass, Gran Turismo 3).

I haven't really found a "best" controller for me. All of them seem to have some things right (except the XBox controller - tHat is just a hunk of plastic) but I can't think of any that stand out to me. The PS2 controller isn't too bad, however.

Personally I'm in love with the Gamecube controller. Although it does admittedly have a "kiddie" look, itís one of the best, well rounded controllers Iíve ever used.

Somebody already mentioned the large A button and how that makes sense with most games where there is one main button you hit, but another thing I love is how the X and Y buttons are slightly raised, so if you need to hit two buttons at once all you have to do is keep the your thumb planted on the A button and roll it onto the X or Y button (or B with a little more effort). Brilliant. Try doing that with an X-Box controller (well, maybe if you have large thumbs, but after hours of Halo playing time I still can't do it).

Also, I've owned a Gamecube since the first week it came out and have never had a problem with the B button breaking, even though I've put a lot of mileage on the controllers (and when my buddies come over to play Mario Kart, Timesplitters or whatever they get a lot of mileage). I'm still using the controller that came with the system and I havenít had a problem with it yet.

I will admit, however, that the Z button is poorly placed, and although you get used to it after awhile and it's not much of a problem to use it is definitely not intuitively placed.

I like the Gamecube and PS controllers about equally. The N64 and XBOX S tie for second (I didn't like that you couldn't reach all the buttons on the N64 controller without switching hand posistions). The SNES controller is also good.

Who can argue with the Atari 2600? One button, one self-centering stick, nothing to screw up. Plus it also worked on the C-64 and Vic-20!

...and the Amiga as well...it was the best joystick of all time-still haven't found anything to match it on my PC...

Quote:

I really did like the feel of the N64 controller. The C-buttons were smaller and all yellow so they could be designed to work independantly of the others, but there were also aligned with the A and B buttons so they were perfect for 6 button fighting games. And the Z-Trigger? Tell me it wasn't perfect for playing Goldeneye. It's a TRIGGER for crying out loud!

I haven't really found a "best" controller for me. All of them seem to have some things right (except the XBox controller - tHat is just a hunk of plastic) but I can't think of any that stand out to me. The PS2 controller isn't too bad, however.

If the Wavebird had analog triggers like the X-Box, and a second Z-button somewhere on the top surface (maybe on the left?) it would be nearly-perfect. If it were the size of the PS2 controller, I think I'd be in heaven; the Wavebird is a little clunky for me, but I'm getting used to it.

I'm easily confused by the PS2's "mystery shapes" buttons--pink hearts, green circles, blue moons, and purple horseshoes might make more sense if they weren't in such a symmetrical layout, but as it is, I always end up pressing the left one when I want to do the action that goes with the right one. Because you never LOOK at them while you play, I still can't tell you which goes where on the controller, so when someone is yelling "block! block! Use the SQUARE BUTTON!" I am lost. They're also all the same size and shape, so there's not the intuitive "hit the big one" playability that the GC controller gives you.

Still, for me the best controller ever is keybord+mouse: left hand on the WASD inverted-T left thumb on the spacebar and left pinkie on Shift/Ctrl/Alt for spare actions. Middle finger can pop up and skate across the number row for (relatively) fast weapon selection, or the scroll wheel can be used if it doesn't do something else cool.

Xbox controllers OWN for FPS's (Does Halo come to mind?). You actually pull a trigger to shoot. Gamecube has a trigger, but the controller just Sucks for them and the C stick is TERRIBLE for aiming [and any other way of aiming on a controller is just not right].
PS2 controllers, you press a button to shoot.. not too exciting. Plus, the thumbstick is just not as nice to the touch as XBOX, and not as smooth and not in the right spots (The left one keeps your thumb to far from its original place on the hand, and it should be wear the [hard and uncomfortable] d pad is).

PS2 wins by a lil the fighting game/THPS genre. Although the D pad is hard and uncomfortable, it is all set apart from eachother; making it easier to not press up left left down right instead of up left left down up. The L/R1+2 are great for different kind of moves and combos.
But Xbox isn't too far behind, still good and comfortable; and Gamecube just sucks.. again.

Sports games: PS2 and Xbox are about the same, like the Fighting game/THPS genre. PS2 may be a lil ahead, mainly because of the L/R1+2 buttons for different functions. Gamecube is also not too far behind, because of the location of the big A button for overused functions, but is still not as good as XBOX or PS2.

Summary:
PS2 has bad D-pad/left thumbstick location, and Thumbstick not as nice as XBOX.
XBOX has a great trigger for shooters and some other games, but not as good for some games that need over 20 different functions.
Gamecube is good if there is one button that a newbie needs to use a lot of just that one button. The right Thumbstick Sucks[and left one is better than PS2's, but not as good as XBOX.]

I'm easily confused by the PS2's "mystery shapes" buttons--pink hearts, green circles, blue moons, and purple horseshoes might make more sense if they weren't in such a symmetrical layout, but as it is, I always end up pressing the left one when I want to do the action that goes with the right one. Because you never LOOK at them while you play, I still can't tell you which goes where on the controller, so when someone is yelling "block! block! Use the SQUARE BUTTON!" I am lost. They're also all the same size and shape, so there's not the intuitive "hit the big one" playability that the GC controller gives you.

After a while it becomes second nature as to which button is where.

But when I got an Xbox I was doubly confused, because the Xbox "X" = the PS2 square, and not only that but it uses ABXY in a different pattern than the Super Nintendo did.